Grading the AFC West at the halfway mark of the 2024 NFL season

Los Angeles Chargers: B-

Record: 5-3

Jim Harbaugh and the new-look Chargers are a bit difficult to figure out, but they are a good team.

They currently sit at sixth in the AFC standings, which means they would be in the playoffs as a wildcard if the season ended today.

Their offense is a bit of a mystery because they have one of the most impressive quarterback talents in the league in Justin Herbert, but they use him as a bit of a game manager.

Still, Herbert is taking great care of the ball and has 10 touchdowns to only one interception. But this offense is all about the run.

J.K. Dobbins already has 620 yards and six touchdowns on the season, but he has slowed down a bit since the beginning of the year. His performance against Cleveland in Week 9 was stellar, but this offense is still only averaging 19.9 points per game, which is 24th in the league.

The bread and butter of this Chargers team is their defense, which is the best in the league.

Jesse Minter's defense is only allowing 12.6 points per game, which makes them the No. 1 scoring defense by two and a half points per game.

They're in the top 10 both in forced turnovers per game and sacks per game and they have one of the highest turnover margins in the league as well.

Defense tends to travel well, so that is promising for this version of the Chargers who rely on their defense to win games.

If Justin Herbert gets unleashed then this team could be dangerous when they put it all together. They're certainly trending in the right direction after starting 2-2.

I think they're very likely to be in the playoffs at this point and could even make some noise if their defense continues to play at the level they have.